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Brad Delp
Background information
Born	June 12, 1951(1951-06-12) Danvers, Massachusetts, USA
Died	March 9, 2007 (aged 55) Atkinson, New Hampshire
Genre(s)	Rock, hard rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active	1969 - 2007
Label(s)	Epic, MCA, Artemis
Associated acts	Boston, RTZ, Beatlejuice
Website	Bandboston.com

Bradley E. Delp (June 12, 1951 – March 9, 2007) was an American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Boston.

Early life

Delp was born in Danvers, Massachusetts¹ to Canadian immigrants. While his father played fiddle at home, Brad was inspired after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and he started to learn guitar. He saw The Beatles live at Suffolk Downs in East Boston on August 18, 1966.² In 1970, he was making heating elements for Mr. Coffee machines at Danvers company Hot-Watt when he met Boston founding members Tom Scholz, Barry Goudreau and Jim Masdea.

Musical career

Delp auditioned as lead vocalist for the band that became Boston in 1976 and got the job immediately. In addition to lead vocals, he contributed back-up vocals, guitar, harmonica and keyboards on the Boston albums. His partnership with guitarist Tom Scholz led to a string of hit songs.³

Delp performed all lead and backing vocals on the first three Boston albums. Following Boston's 1978 album Don't Look Back, he contributed lead vocals to a solo album by Barry Goudreau. He also contributed backing vocals to Orion the Hunter's debut album (1984), and the group RTZ (Return to Zero).⁴ He returned to Boston to record Third Stage, released in 1986.¹

On the 1994 Boston album Walk On, Fran Cosmo replaced Delp who was working with Return to Zero, but the album did not sell well. Delp later shared vocals with Cosmo in concert, where Delp said Cosmo covered "the really tough high parts". ⁵

Delp returned to the Boston line-up in 1994 and made contributions to their 1997 Greatest Hits and 2002 Corporate America albums.

From 1995–2007, Delp played in a Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice when he had time off from Boston. Delp also performed with Goudreau on an album released in 2006, titled Delp and Goudreau.

Personal life

Delp was married and divorced twice, and had two children by his second wife. He was a vegetarian for over thirty years and contributed to a number of charitable causes.⁶ He was set to marry his girlfriend of seven years, Pamela Sullivan, at the time of his death.

Death

On March 9, 2007, Delp was found dead in his home in Atkinson, New Hampshire. Delp, who was only 55, died from the smoke of two charcoal grills he lit inside his sealed bathroom. He was found by his girlfriend Pamela Sullivan lying on a pillow on his bathroom floor with a suicide note pinned to his shirt stating that he was a "lonely soul". The official cause of death was listed as carbon monoxide poisoning.⁷⁸ That day, the official web site for the band was taken down and replaced with the statement: "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."

Delp left private notes to all his family members and a public note that read: "Mr. Brad Delp. Je suis une âme solitaire. I am a lonely soul." ^{9 10}

A tribute concert featuring his former band mates took place on August 19, 2007, the day after his marriage was to have taken place.

On October 16, 2007, Barry Goudreau released one final song with Brad on vocals titled "Rockin' Away." Recorded in the summer of 2006, it is an autobiography of Delp's music career. The song was a minor hit in early 2008, charting up to #18 on the America's Music ranking of rock radio airplay. ¹¹

Discography

• Boston (1976)
• Don't Look Back (1978)
• Barry Goudreau (1980)
• Orion The Hunter (1984)
• Third Stage (1986)
• Return To Zero (1991)
• Greatest Hits (Boston) (1997)
• Lost (1998)
• Corporate America (2002)
• Delp And Goudreau (2003)
• Lost And Found (2005)
• Delp And Goudreau (2007) a single titled "Rockin Away"

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Pareles, Jon (March 10, 2007). Brad Delp, 55, Lead Singer for Boston, Dies. The New York Times
2. ^ Moskowitz, Eric (2007-08-18). "Delp's bandmates, friends unite in tribute and in sadness". The Boston Globe.
3. ^ Pareles, Jon (November 5, 1986) New Boston hit a throwback to the 70's. The New York Times
4. ^ Winberg, Pär (1980). Interview with Brad Delp. melodic.net
5. ^ Pareles, Jon (June 10, 1995). In performance: Rock. The New York Times
6. ^ Wright, Jeb (July 2003). Interview with Brad Delp. Classic Rock Revisited
7. ^ Police Report On Delp's Death Reveals His Final Message March 14, 2007
8. ^ Family: Rocker Brad Delp's death was suicideMarch 14, 2007
9. ^ 'I am a lonely soul,' Delp's suicide note says March 15, 2007
10. ^ Brad Delp's fiancee releases statement on his death March 28, 2007
11. ^ thirdstage.ca - 'Rockin Away' on Radio Charts

External links

• Brad Delp at the Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 30 November 2008, at 16:36.

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